Systems and methods for acquiring server resources at schedule time

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed that acquire server resources at the time of scheduling an automated instance-related task, such as an instance migration task, and prior to starting the automated task (e.g., prior to determining scheduling conflicts, creating a change request, or creating a move context associated with starting the instance migration task). Advantageously, if acquiring the server resources fails, an orchestration server performing the automated task can simply retry acquiring the server resources, thus avoiding restarting the automated task and re-performing steps of the automated task, thus avoiding unnecessary overhead.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to acquiring server resources,and more particularly, acquiring server resources prior to performingautomated instance-related tasks.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure,which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed tobe helpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Organizations, regardless of size, rely upon access to informationtechnology (IT) and data and services for their continued operation andsuccess. A respective organization's IT infrastructure may haveassociated hardware resources (e.g. computing devices, load balancers,firewalls, switches, etc.) and software resources (e.g. productivitysoftware, database applications, custom applications, and so forth).Over time, more and more organizations have turned to cloud computingapproaches to supplement or enhance their IT infrastructure solutions.

Cloud computing relates to the sharing of computing resources that aregenerally accessed via the Internet. In particular, a cloud computinginfrastructure allows users, such as individuals and/or enterprises, toaccess a shared pool of computing resources, such as servers, storagedevices, networks, applications, and/or other computing based services.By doing so, users are able to access computing resources on demand thatare located at remote locations, which resources may be used to performa variety of computing functions (e.g., storing and/or processing largequantities of computing data). For enterprise and other organizationusers, cloud computing provides flexibility in accessing cloud computingresources without accruing large up-front costs, such as purchasingexpensive network equipment or investing large amounts of time inestablishing a private network infrastructure. Instead, by utilizingcloud computing resources, users are able redirect their resources tofocus on their enterprise's core functions.

A cloud-based information technology platform may include one or morevirtual servers that enable a client instance. An orchestration serverof the platform may perform automated instance-related tasks to manageand/or maintain the client instance. For example, a user may requestthat the orchestration server move or copy the client instance to one ormore other servers as part of an automated migration task. To perform anautomated instance-related task, the orchestration server may notify theuser about the scheduled window for performing the task (e.g., adowntime period for the instance). The automated task may then begin. Aspart of the automated task, an attempt may be made to acquire serverresources (e.g., as a target destination for migrating a clientinstance). However, the attempt to acquire the server resources may faildue to a variety of reasons, such as a destination server being full,preallocated, or having defective sectors.

Moreover, because the attempt to acquire the server resources occurs atruntime (of the automated task), the orchestration server may not beable to simply retry the acquiring the server resources. Instead, thatuser may have to resubmit the request to perform the automated task,resulting in performing steps of the automated task again, causingunnecessary overhead.

SUMMARY

A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. Itshould be understood that these aspects are presented merely to providethe reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and thatthese aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may notbe set forth below.

The present disclosure includes systems and methods that acquire serverresources at the time of scheduling an automated instance-related task,such as an instance migration task, and prior to starting the automatedtask (e.g., prior to determining scheduling conflicts, creating a changerequest, or creating a move context associated with starting theinstance migration task). Advantageously, if acquiring the serverresources fails, a orchestration server performing the automated taskretries acquiring the server resources, thus avoiding restarting theautomated task and re-performing steps of the automated task, therebyavoiding unnecessary overhead.

Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation tovarious aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also beincorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements andadditional features may exist individually or in any combination. Forinstance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more ofthe illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of theabove-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in anycombination. The brief summary presented above is intended only tofamiliarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodimentsof the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subjectmatter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon readingthe following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a cloud architecture inwhich embodiments of the present disclosure may operate;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a multi-instance cloudarchitecture in which embodiments of the present disclosure may operate;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a computing device utilized in a computingsystem that may be present in FIG. 1 or 2, in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a state diagram for acquiring server resources at scheduletime, according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram for acquiring server resources at scheduletime, according to embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a process for acquiring server resources atschedule time, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effortto provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all featuresof an actual implementation are described in the specification. Itshould be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andenterprise-related constraints, which may vary from one implementationto another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

As used herein, the term “computing system” refers to an electroniccomputing device such as, but not limited to, a single computer, virtualmachine, virtual container, host, server, laptop, and/or mobile device,or to a plurality of electronic computing devices working together toperform the function described as being performed on or by the computingsystem. As used herein, the term “medium” refers to one or morenon-transitory, computer-readable physical media that together store thecontents described as being stored thereon. Embodiments may includenon-volatile secondary storage, read-only memory (ROM), and/orrandom-access memory (RAM). As used herein, the term “application”refers to one or more computing modules, programs, processes, workloads,threads and/or a set of computing instructions executed by a computingsystem. Example embodiments of an application include software modules,software objects, software instances and/or other types of executablecode.

A cloud-based information technology platform may include one or morevirtual servers that enable a client instance. An orchestration serverof the platform may perform automated instance-related tasks to manageand/or maintain the client instance. For example, a user may requestthat the orchestration server move or copy the client instance to one ormore other servers as part of an automated migration task. To perform anautomated instance-related task, the orchestration server may notify theuser about the scheduled window for performing the task (e.g., adowntime period for the instance), and, prior to starting the task,acquire server resources (e.g., as a destination for the instance inperforming the task). The orchestration server may then perform theautomated instance-related task, such as an instance migration task.Advantageously, if acquiring the server resources fails, a orchestrationserver performing the automated task can simply retry acquiring theserver resources, thus avoiding restarting the automated task andre-performing steps of the automated task, thus avoiding unnecessaryoverhead. It should be understood that while the present disclosurediscusses the automated instance-related task as an instance migrationtask, the instance migration task is only used as an example, and thepresently disclosed techniques may also be applied to any other suitableautomated instance-related task, such as cloning an instance, moving aninstance, copying an instance, backing up an instance, or restoring aninstance.

With the preceding in mind, the following figures relate to varioustypes of generalized system architectures or configurations that may beemployed to provide services to an organization in a multi-instanceframework and on which the present approaches may be employed.Correspondingly, these system and platform examples may also relate tosystems and platforms on which the techniques discussed herein may beimplemented or otherwise utilized. Turning now to FIG. 1, a schematicdiagram of an embodiment of a cloud computing system 10 whereembodiments of the present disclosure may operate, is illustrated. Thecloud computing system 10 may include a client network 12, a network 14(e.g., the Internet), and a cloud-based platform 16. In someimplementations, the cloud-based platform 16 may be a configurationmanagement database (CMDB) platform or a workflow orchestrator. In oneembodiment, the client network 12 may be a local private network, suchas local area network (LAN) having a variety of network devices thatinclude, but are not limited to, switches, servers, and routers. Inanother embodiment, the client network 12 represents an enterprisenetwork that could include one or more LANs, virtual networks, datacenters 18, and/or other remote networks. As shown in FIG. 1, the clientnetwork 12 is able to connect to one or more client devices 20A, 20B,and 20C so that the client devices are able to communicate with eachother and/or with the network hosting the platform 16. The clientdevices 20 may be computing systems and/or other types of computingdevices generally referred to as Internet of Things (IoT) devices thataccess cloud computing services, for example, via a web browserapplication or via an edge device 22 that may act as a gateway betweenthe client devices 20 and the platform 16. FIG. 1 also illustrates thatthe client network 12 includes an administration, managerial, ormanagement device or server, such as a management, instrumentation, anddiscovery (MID) server 24 that facilitates communication of data betweenthe network hosting the platform 16, other external applications, datasources, and services, and the client network 12. Although notspecifically illustrated in FIG. 1, the client network 12 may alsoinclude a connecting network device (e.g., a gateway or router) or acombination of devices that implement a customer firewall or intrusionprotection system.

For the illustrated embodiment, FIG. 1 illustrates that client network12 is coupled to a network 14. The network 14 may include one or morecomputing networks, such as other LANs, wide area networks (WAN), theInternet, and/or other remote networks, to transfer data between theclient devices 20 and the network hosting the platform 16. Each of thecomputing networks within network 14 may contain wired and/or wirelessprogrammable devices that operate in the electrical and/or opticaldomain. For example, network 14 may include wireless networks, such ascellular networks (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)based cellular network), IEEE 802.11 networks, and/or other suitableradio-based networks. The network 14 may also employ any number ofnetwork communication protocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol(TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP). Although not explicitly shown in FIG.1, network 14 may include a variety of network devices, such as servers,routers, network switches, and/or other network hardware devicesconfigured to transport data over the network 14.

In FIG. 1, the network hosting the platform 16 may be a remote network(e.g., a cloud network) that is able to communicate with the clientdevices 20 via the client network 12 and network 14. The network hostingthe platform 16 provides additional computing resources to the clientdevices 20 and/or the client network 12. For example, by utilizing thenetwork hosting the platform 16, users of the client devices 20 are ableto build and execute applications for various enterprise, IT, and/orother organization-related functions. In one embodiment, the networkhosting the platform 16 is implemented on the one or more data centers18, where each data center could correspond to a different geographiclocation. Each of the data centers 18 includes a plurality of virtualservers 26 (also referred to herein as application nodes, applicationservers, virtual server instances, application instances, or applicationserver instances), where each virtual server 26 can be implemented on aphysical computing system, such as a single electronic computing device(e.g., a single physical hardware server) or across multiple-computingdevices (e.g., multiple physical hardware servers). Examples of virtualservers 26 include, but are not limited to a web server (e.g., a unitaryApache installation), an application server (e.g., unitary JAVA VirtualMachine), and/or a database server (e.g., a unitary relational databasemanagement system (RDBMS) catalog).

To utilize computing resources within the platform 16, network operatorsmay choose to configure the data centers 18 using a variety of computinginfrastructures. In one embodiment, one or more of the data centers 18are configured using a multi-tenant cloud architecture, such that one ofthe server instances 26 handles requests from and serves multiplecustomers. Data centers 18 with multi-tenant cloud architecturecommingle and store data from multiple customers, where multiplecustomer instances are assigned to one of the virtual servers 26. In amulti-tenant cloud architecture, the particular virtual server 26distinguishes between and segregates data and other information of thevarious customers. For example, a multi-tenant cloud architecture couldassign a particular identifier for each customer in order to identifyand segregate the data from each customer. Generally, implementing amulti-tenant cloud architecture may suffer from various drawbacks, suchas a failure of a particular one of the server instances 26 causingoutages for all customers allocated to the particular server instance.

In another embodiment, one or more of the data centers 18 are configuredusing a multi-instance cloud architecture to provide every customer itsown unique customer instance or instances. For example, a multi-instancecloud architecture could provide each customer instance with its owndedicated application server and dedicated database server. In otherexamples, the multi-instance cloud architecture could deploy a singlephysical or virtual server 26 and/or other combinations of physicaland/or virtual servers 26, such as one or more dedicated web servers,one or more dedicated application servers, and one or more databaseservers, for each customer instance. In a multi-instance cloudarchitecture, multiple customer instances could be installed on one ormore respective hardware servers, where each customer instance isallocated certain portions of the physical server resources, such ascomputing memory, storage, and processing power. By doing so, eachcustomer instance has its own unique software stack that provides thebenefit of data isolation, relatively less downtime for customers toaccess the platform 16, and customer-driven upgrade schedules. Anexample of implementing a customer instance within a multi-instancecloud architecture will be discussed in more detail below with referenceto FIG. 2.

The data centers 18 may also include one or more orchestration servers28 that may orchestrate, manage, and perform one or more automations onthe customer instances. These automations may include migrating customerinstances, cloning customer instances, moving customer instances,copying customer instances, backing up customer instances, restoringcustomer instances, or any other suitable automated operation.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a multi-instance cloudarchitecture 100 where embodiments of the present disclosure mayoperate. FIG. 2 illustrates that the multi-instance cloud architecture100 includes the client network 12 and the network 14 that connect totwo (e.g., paired) data centers 18A and 18B that may be geographicallyseparated from one another. Using FIG. 2 as an example, networkenvironment and service provider cloud infrastructure client instance102 (also referred to herein as a client instance 102) is associatedwith (e.g., supported and enabled by) dedicated virtual servers (e.g.,virtual servers 26A, 26B, 26C, and 26D) and dedicated database servers(e.g., virtual database servers 104A and 104B). Stated another way, thevirtual servers 26A-26D and virtual database servers 104A and 104B arenot shared with other client instances and are specific to therespective client instance 102. In the depicted example, to facilitateavailability of the client instance 102, the virtual servers 26A-26D andvirtual database servers 104A and 104B are allocated to two differentdata centers 18A and 18B so that one of the data centers 18 acts as abackup data center. Other embodiments of the multi-instance cloudarchitecture 100 could include other types of dedicated virtual servers,such as a web server. For example, the client instance 102 could beassociated with (e.g., supported and enabled by) the dedicated virtualservers 26A-26D, dedicated virtual database servers 104A and 104B, andadditional dedicated virtual web servers (not shown in FIG. 2). The datacenters 18A and 18B also include orchestration servers 28A and 28B thatmay orchestrate, manage, and perform automation tasks on the clientinstance 102.

Although FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate specific embodiments of a cloudcomputing system 10 and a multi-instance cloud architecture 100,respectively, the disclosure is not limited to the specific embodimentsillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. For instance, although FIG. 1 illustratesthat the platform 16 is implemented using data centers, otherembodiments of the platform 16 are not limited to data centers and canutilize other types of remote network infrastructures. Moreover, otherembodiments of the present disclosure may combine one or more differentvirtual servers into a single virtual server or, conversely, performoperations attributed to a single virtual server using multiple virtualservers. For instance, using FIG. 2 as an example, the virtual servers26A, 26B, 26C, 26D and virtual database servers 104A, 104B may becombined into a single virtual server. Moreover, the present approachesmay be implemented in other architectures or configurations, including,but not limited to, multi-tenant architectures, generalizedclient/server implementations, and/or even on a single physicalprocessor-based device configured to perform some or all of theoperations discussed herein. Similarly, though virtual servers ormachines may be referenced to facilitate discussion of animplementation, physical servers may instead be employed as appropriate.The use and discussion of FIGS. 1 and 2 are only examples to facilitateease of description and explanation and are not intended to limit thedisclosure to the specific examples illustrated therein.

As may be appreciated, the respective architectures and frameworksdiscussed with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2 incorporate computing systems ofvarious types (e.g., servers, workstations, client devices, laptops,tablet computers, cellular telephones, and so forth) throughout. For thesake of completeness, a brief, high level overview of componentstypically found in such systems is provided. As may be appreciated, thepresent overview is intended to merely provide a high-level, generalizedview of components typical in such computing systems and should not beviewed as limiting in terms of components discussed or omitted fromdiscussion.

By way of background, it may be appreciated that the present approachmay be implemented using one or more processor-based systems such asshown in FIG. 3. Likewise, applications and/or databases utilized in thepresent approach may be stored, employed, and/or maintained on suchprocessor-based systems. As may be appreciated, such systems as shown inFIG. 3 may be present in a distributed computing environment, anetworked environment, or other multi-computer platform or architecture.Likewise, systems such as that shown in FIG. 3, may be used insupporting or communicating with one or more virtual environments orcomputational instances on which the present approach may beimplemented.

With this in mind, an example computer system may include some or all ofthe computer components depicted in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 generally illustratesa block diagram of example components of a computing system 200 andtheir potential interconnections or communication paths, such as alongone or more busses. As illustrated, the computing system 200 may includevarious hardware components such as, but not limited to, one or moreprocessors 202, one or more busses 204, memory 206, input devices 208, apower source 210, a network interface 212, a user interface 214, and/orother computer components useful in performing the functions describedherein.

The one or more processors 202 may include one or more microprocessorscapable of performing instructions stored in the memory 206.Additionally or alternatively, the one or more processors 202 mayinclude application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs),field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and/or other devices designed toperform some or all of the functions discussed herein without callinginstructions from the memory 206.

With respect to other components, the one or more busses 204 includesuitable electrical channels to provide data and/or power between thevarious components of the computing system 200. The memory 206 mayinclude any tangible, non-transitory, and computer-readable storagemedia. Although shown as a single block in FIG. 1, the memory 206 can beimplemented using multiple physical units of the same or different typesin one or more physical locations. The input devices 208 correspond tostructures to input data and/or commands to the one or more processors202. For example, the input devices 208 may include a mouse, touchpad,touchscreen, keyboard and the like. The power source 210 can be anysuitable source for power of the various components of the computingdevice 200, such as line power and/or a battery source. The networkinterface 212 includes one or more transceivers capable of communicatingwith other devices over one or more networks (e.g., a communicationchannel). The network interface 212 may provide a wired networkinterface or a wireless network interface. A user interface 214 mayinclude a display that is configured to display text or imagestransferred to it from the one or more processors 202. In additionand/or alternative to the display, the user interface 214 may includeother devices for interfacing with a user, such as lights (e.g., LEDs),speakers, and the like.

The orchestration server 28 of the cloud computing system 10 may performautomated instance-related tasks to manage and/or maintain the clientinstance 102. For example, a user may request that the orchestrationserver 28 move or copy the client instance 102 to one or more otherservers (e.g., virtual servers 26 and/or virtual database servers 104)and/or one or more other data centers 18 as part of an automatedmigration task. To perform an automated instance-related task, theorchestration server 28 may notify the user about the scheduled windowfor performing the task (e.g., a downtime period for the instance 102),and, prior to starting the task, acquire server resources (e.g., as adestination for the instance 102 in performing the task). The serverresources may include server capacity, computing memory, storage, and/orprocessing power. The orchestration server 28 may then perform theautomated instance-related task, such as an instance migration task.Advantageously, if acquiring the server resources fails, anorchestration server 28 performing the automated task can simply retryacquiring the server resources, thus avoiding restarting the automatedtask and re-performing steps of the automated task, thus avoidingunnecessary overhead. While the present disclosure discusses theorchestration server 28 performing automated instance-related tasks, itshould be understood that the presently disclosed techniques may also beapplied to any suitable system or device capable of performing automatedinstance-related tasks, such as a management, instrumentation, anddiscovery (MID) server 24.

With this in mind, FIG. 4 is a state diagram for acquiring serverresources at schedule time, according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In a start state 230, the orchestration server 28 mayreceive a request to perform an automated instance-related task, such asan instance migration task. The request may include a date and time(e.g., a start time) that the task be performed. If the start time isnot within a threshold duration (“X days”), then the task may enter a“Wait” state 232. The threshold duration may be any duration of timethat is suitable for the task to be performed, such as between one hourand one month, including 12 hours, one day, two days, three days, fivedays, one week, ten days, two weeks, and so on.

Once the start time is within the threshold duration, the task may entera “New” state 234. In the New state 234, the orchestration server 28 mayenter the task into a queue, where the task may wait with other tasks tobe performed. Additionally, a business rule may be triggered thatchanges the New state 234 to a “Pending” state 236. The business rulemay be a server-side script that executes based on a certain conditionsoccurring.

In the Pending state 236, the orchestration server 28 may attempt toacquire server resources (e.g., as a destination for the instance 102 inperforming the task). If the server resources are acquired successfully,the task may move to a “Scheduled” state 238. In the Scheduled state238, the task is scheduled. For example, the orchestration server 28 maycreate a change request that facilitates performing the task by enablingaddition, modification, or removal of one or more entities of the cloudcomputing system 10, such as virtual servers 26, virtual databaseservers 104, and data centers 18. In particular, the change request maybe associated with modifying the destination server resources to allowfor migrating the client instance 102 to the destination serverresources. Where the task is associated with migrating or moving theclient instance 102, the orchestration server 28 may also create a movecontext that facilitates the move by providing details of the move, suchas a move time, size of the client instance 102, move destination, andso on. In particular, a time window may be scheduled (e.g., by the user)or locked for when to perform the task.

In some cases, the server resources acquired in the Scheduled state 238may be needed by another task (such as another automated migrationtask). If the other task has a higher priority than the current task(e.g., it is scheduled to be performed earlier than the current task orit is flagged as a higher priority task), then the client server 102 mayrelease the server resources acquired in the Scheduled state 238 to beused by the other, higher priority task. As a result, the current taskmoves to the “Pending Capacity” state 240.

If the task is in the Pending Capacity state 240, then the orchestrationserver 28 may attempt to reacquire the server resources by moving backto the Pending state 236.

In some embodiments, if the orchestration server 28 fails to reacquirethe server resources (e.g., in a second attempt), the task may move toan “Ignored” state 242. From the Ignored state 242, the orchestrationserver 28 may attempt to reacquire the server resources (e.g., for athird time) by moving the task to the Pending state 236. If the serverresources are still not able to be reacquired, then the task may becancelled by entering a “Cancelled” state 244. To enter the Cancelledstate 244, the orchestration server 28 may cancel or release resourcesthat were reserved for the task. For example, the orchestration server28 may release the time window that was scheduled or locked in theScheduled state 238.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram for acquiring server resources at scheduletime, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Theorchestration server 28 may receive a request to perform an automatedinstance-related task, such as an automated migration task. For example,a user may submit the task request 250 via a user interface 252 of anautomated task scheduling and performance software application executingon the orchestration server 28. In some embodiments, the automated taskscheduling and performance software application may be stored asinstructions in the memory 206 and executed by the one or moreprocessors 202.

A producer class 254 of a queuing engine 256 may receive the taskrequest 250, and generate a new task record (having the New state 234),block a scheduled window to perform the task, generate a queue entryassociated with the task in a queue (e.g., an auto resize queue (ARQ)260), and send an ARQ link to the user associated with the queue entry,in block 258. As such, an ARQ table listing queue entries in the ARQ 260may list the task having a state of New 234. Once the task has the stateof New 234, a business rule may be triggered by a consumer class 262 ofthe queuing engine 256 to acquire server resources at schedule time asshown in block 264.

A task performance engine 266 may then acquire the server resources atschedule time. In particular, the task performance engine 266 may changethe state of the task to the Pending state 236. That is, the ARQ tablelisting queue entries in the ARQ 260 may list the task having a state ofPending 236. In the Pending state 236, the task performance engine 266may run preflight checks or determine preflight conditions 268 toconfirm that the topology (or other parameters) of the client instance102 is as expected, that the topology (or other parameters) of thedestination server resources is as expected, or the like. The taskperformance engine 266 may then acquire the server resources 270. Thatis, the task performance engine 266 may hold or reserve the destinationserver resources and prevent or block other tasks from accessing thedestination server resources during or before performance of the task.

The task performance engine 266 may also detect any schedulingconflicts, create a change request (e.g., a CHG ticket), and/or create amove context 272. In particular, the task performance engine 266 maydetermine whether the scheduled window conflicts with the performance ofany other scheduled tasks (such as other scheduled uses of thedestination server resources). In some embodiments, the task performanceengine 266 may release the hold or reservation of the destination serverresources in order to determine any scheduling conflicts. This may bebecause the task performance engine 266 may not be able to determinescheduling conflicts unless the hold or reservation of the destinationserver resources is released.

The change request may facilitate performing the task by enablingaddition, modification, or removal of one or more entities of the cloudcomputing system 10, such as virtual servers 26, virtual databaseservers 104, and data centers 18. Where the task is associated withmigrating or moving the client instance 102, the orchestration server 28may also create a move context that facilitates the move by providingdetails of the move, such as a move time, size of the client instance102, move destination, and so on. The task performance engine 266 mayenter the move context (as wells details of the move) into a movecontext table that stores and facilitates management of move contexts.In doing so, the task performance engine 266 may change the state of thetask to the Scheduled state 238. That is, the ARQ table listing queueentries in the ARQ 260 may list the task having a state of Scheduled238. The task performance engine 266 may then notify the user 274 thatthe task has been completed. For example, the task performance engine266 may send an email to the user that the client instance 102 has beenmigrated to the destination server resources.

In the case where one of these steps performed by the task performanceengine 266 fails (e.g., the preflight checks 268 are not successful, theserver resources are not acquired 270, there are scheduling conflicts, achange request could not be created, and/or a move context could not becreated 272), then the task performance engine 266 may retry that step276. For example, the task performance engine 266 may notify the user274 that the task and/or the step has failed. The user interface 252 maythen display a prompt that enables the user to retry the task. In somecases, the user interface 252 may identify the task based on theassociated ARQ entry or record. If the user indicates that the taskshould be retried, then the queuing engine 256 may update the state ofthe task as New 234. This may trigger the business rule of the consumerclass 262 to acquire the server resources at schedule time as shown inblock 264. The task performance engine 266 may then retry the failedstep, as well as perform any following steps that were not previouslyperformed. Moreover, the task performance engine 266 may skip performingsteps that have already been performed, which may avoid unnecessaryoverhead. That is, if the server resources were not able to be acquiredat block 270, and the user indicated that the task should be retried atblock 276, then when the task performance engine 266 retries acquiringthe server resources 270, it may skip running preflight checks 268 asthey have already been checked during a first attempt. During the retry276, the orchestration server 28 may update the state of the task to theappropriate state (such as Pending Capacity 240 or Ignored 242).

In the case where the user does not indicate that the task should beretried 276, or in any other case that the task should be cancelled, thetask performance engine 280 may perform failure steps 280, includingignoring the task (as identified by the associated ARQ entry or record)282 by, for example, updating the state of the task to Ignored 242,updating a message associated with the task (e.g., to be sent to theuser) 284, and/or a creating/updating incident report (“INT”) 286. Thetask performance engine 280 may then notify the user 274 that the taskand/or the step has failed, or should otherwise be cancelled. The taskperformance engine 280 may update the status of the task to Cancelled244 and/or remove the move context associated with the task from themove context table 288.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a process 300 for acquiring server resources atschedule time, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Theprocess 300 may be implemented in the form of a software application(e.g., an automated task scheduling and performance softwareapplication) that includes instructions executable by at least onesuitable processor of the cloud computing system 10, such as a processorof the orchestration server 28. In some embodiments, the orchestrationserver 28 may be implemented as the computing system 200 of FIG. 3, and,as such, the process 300 may be implemented by the processor 202. Theillustrated process 300 is merely provided as an example, and in otherembodiments, certain illustrated steps of the process 300 may beperformed in other orders, skipped, or repeated, in accordance with thepresent disclosure.

As illustrated, in process block 302, the processor 202 receives arequest to migrate a client instance 102. For example, a user may submita migration task request 250 via a user interface 252 as illustrated inFIG. 5. The request may include a scheduled window associated with when(e.g., a date and time range) to migrate the client instance 102.

In process block 304, the processor 202 determines preflight conditions.In particular, the processor 202 may determine the topology (or otherparameters) of the client instance 102 to be migrated and/or thetopology (or other parameters) of the destination server resources. Forexample, the processor 202 may determine the arrangement of the networkassociated with the client instance 102 and/or the network associatedwith the destination server resources, including the geometric layout,configuration, and/or design of workstations or nodes of the networks.

In decision block 306, the processor 202 determines whether thepreflight conditions are as expected. In particular, the processor 202may determine whether the topology of the client instance 102 to bemigrated is as expected, that the topology of the destination serverresources is as expected, or the like.

If not, the processor 202 may stop the migration of the client instance102, and, in decision block 308, determine whether the migration shouldbe retried. For example, the processor 202 may prompt the user via theuser interface 252 whether migration should be retried. If migration ofthe client instance 102 should be retried, then the processor 202 mayreturn to process block 304 to redetermine preflight conditions. Ifmigration should not be retried (e.g., the user indicates that migrationof the client instance 102 is no longer desired), then, in process block310, the processor 202 may cancel the migration of the client instance102.

If the processor 202 determines that the preflight conditions are asexpected (from decision block 306), then, in process block 312, theprocessor 202 attempts to acquire the destination server resources. Thatis, the processor 202 may attempt to hold or reserve the destinationserver resources and prevent or block other tasks from accessing thedestination server resources during or before migration of the clientinstance 102.

In decision block 314, the processor 202 determines whether the attemptto acquire the destination server resources is successful. If not, indecision block 316, the processor 202 determines whether the migrationshould be retried. For example, the processor 202 may prompt the uservia the user interface 252 whether migration should be retried. Ifmigration of the client instance 102 should be retried, then theprocessor 202 may return to process block 312 to attempt to reacquirethe destination server resources. If migration should not be retried(e.g., the user indicates that migration of the client instance 102 isno longer desired), then, in process block 310, the processor 202 maycancel the migration of the client instance 102.

If the processor 202 determines that the attempt to acquire thedestination server resources is successful (from decision block 314),then, in process block 318, the processor 202 determines any schedulingconflicts, attempts to create a change request, and attempts to create amove context. That is, the processor 202 may determine whether ascheduled window for migrating the client instance 102 conflicts withthe performance of any other scheduled tasks (such as other scheduleduses of the destination server resources). In some embodiments, theprocessor 202 may release the hold or reservation of the destinationserver resources in order to determine any scheduling conflicts. Thismay be because the processor 202 may not be able to determine schedulingconflicts unless the hold or reservation of the destination serverresources is released. The change request may facilitate migrating theclient instance 102 by enabling addition, modification, or removal ofone or more entities of the cloud computing system 10, such as virtualservers 26, virtual database servers 104, and data centers 18. Theprocessor 202 may also create a move context that facilitates the moveby providing details of the move, such as a move time, size of theclient instance 102, move destination, and so on.

In decision block 320, the processor 202 determines whether there areany scheduling conflicts, whether the attempt to create the changerequest failed, or whether the attempt to create the move contextfailed. If there was a scheduling conflict, the attempt to create thechange request failed, or the attempt to create the move context failed,then, in decision block 322, the processor 202 determines whether themigration should be retried. In some embodiments, if the processor 202determines there was a scheduling conflict, the processor 202 may firstprompt the user via the user interface 252 to select another (e.g., analternative) scheduled window for migrating the client instance 102, andthen prompt the user via the user interface 252 whether migration shouldbe retried. If migration of the client instance 102 should be retried,then the processor 202 may return to process block 318 to determine anyscheduling conflicts (e.g., based on the alternative scheduled window),attempt to create a change request, and attempt to create a movecontext. If migration should not be retried (e.g., the user indicatesthat migration of the client instance 102 is no longer desired), then,in process block 310, the processor 202 may cancel the migration of theclient instance 102.

If the processor 202 determines that there are no scheduling conflicts,the attempt to create the change request is successful, and the attemptto create the move context is successful, then, in process block 324,then the processor 202 migrates the client instance 102 to thedestination server resources. In particular, the orchestration server 28may implement the change request and the move context to move the clientinstance 102 to the destination server resources.

In this manner, the process 300 may acquiring server resources atschedule time, rather than runtime. As such, on failure of certain steps(e.g., acquiring destination server resources in process block 312 ordetermining scheduling conflicts, creating change requests and creatingmove contexts in process block 318), the certain steps may be retriedwithout performing already performed steps (e.g., determining preflightconditions in process block 304 or acquiring destination serverresources in process block 312), thus avoiding unnecessary overhead.

The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way ofexample, and it should be understood that these embodiments may besusceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should befurther understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to theparticular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope ofthis disclosure.

The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and appliedto material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature thatdemonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are notabstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claimsappended to the end of this specification contain one or more elementsdesignated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for[perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements areto be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claimscontaining elements designated in any other manner, it is intended thatsuch elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

The invention claimed is:
 1. A cloud computing system comprising: one ormore data centers; a client instance hosted by a first set of allocatedresources of the one or more data centers, wherein the client instanceis accessible by one or more remote client networks; and anorchestration server communicatively coupled to the one or more datacenters via the one or more client networks, wherein the orchestrationserver is configured to migrate the client instance to a second set ofallocated resources of the one or more data centers by: reserving thesecond set of allocated resources of the one or more data centers toprevent or block other tasks from accessing the second set of allocatedresources during the migration; prior to migrating the client instanceto the second set of allocated resources, releasing the reserved secondset of allocated resources to identify any scheduling conflictsassociated with migrating the client instance to the second set ofallocated resources of the one or more data centers by determiningwhether a scheduled window for migrating the client instance conflictswith performance of another scheduled task; and migrating the clientinstance to the second set of allocated resources of the one or moredata centers in response to determining that the second set of allocatedresources of the one or more data centers are reserved and that noscheduling conflict is identified.
 2. The cloud computing system ofclaim 1, wherein the first set of allocated resources of the one or moredata centers comprises a first set of server resources.
 3. The cloudcomputing system of claim 2, wherein the second set of allocatedresources of the one or more data centers comprises a second set ofserver resources different from the first set of server resources. 4.The cloud computing system of claim 1, wherein the orchestration serveris configured to migrate the client instance to the second set ofallocated resources of the one or more data centers in response toconfirmation that a topology of the second set of allocated resources ofthe one or more data centers corresponds to a topology of the clientinstance.
 5. The cloud computing system of claim 1, wherein a topologyof one or both of the client instance or the second set of allocatedresources comprises an architecture of a network associated with theclient instance or the second set of allocated resources.
 6. The cloudcomputing system of claim 1, wherein identifying any schedulingconflicts comprises releasing the reserved second set of allocatedresources of the one or more data centers prior to identifying anyscheduling conflicts.
 7. A tangible, non-transitory,machine-readable-medium, comprising machine-readable instructions that,when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform actscomprising: reserving server resources to prevent or block other tasksfrom accessing the server resources during a scheduled window formigrating a client instance of a cloud computing system to the serverresources; prior to migrating the client instance to the serverresources, releasing the reserved server resources to determine anyscheduling conflicts associated with migrating the client instance ofthe cloud computing system to the server resources in response todetermining that the server resources are reserved; and migrating theclient instance to the server resources in response to determining thatthere are no scheduling conflicts or determining that the serverresources are reserved.
 8. The tangible, non-transitory,machine-readable-medium of claim 7, wherein the machine-readableinstructions cause the processor to perform acts comprising re-reservingthe server resources without determining a topology of the serverresources in response to determining that the server resources were notreserved.
 9. The tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable-medium ofclaim 7, wherein migrating the client instance to the server resourcescomprises: attempting to create a change request associated withenabling modification of the server resources; and attempting to createa move context associated with migrating the client instance.
 10. Thetangible, non-transitory, machine-readable-medium of claim 9, whereinmigrating the client instance to the server resources comprisesimplementing the change request and the move context to move the clientinstance to the server resources in response to determining that theattempt to create the change request is successful and the attempt tocreate the move context is successful.
 11. A method for acquiring serverresources at schedule time, comprising: receiving a request to migrate aclient instance hosted by a first set of server resources of a cloudcomputing system to a second set of server resources of the cloudcomputing system; reserving the second set of server resources toprevent or block other tasks from accessing the second set of serverresources during the migration; prior to migrating the client instanceto the second set of server resources, releasing the reserved set ofserver resources to identify any scheduling conflicts associated withmigrating the client instance to the second set of server resources bydetermining whether a scheduled window for migrating the client instanceconflicts with performance of another scheduled task; and migrating theclient instance to the second set of server resources in response todetermining that the second set of server resources are reserved and noscheduling conflict is identified.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereinthe request to migrate the client instance comprises the scheduledwindow associated with when to migrate the client instance.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, comprising, in response to determining that there isa scheduling conflict associated with migrating the client instance tothe second set of server resources, enabling selection of an alternativescheduled window associated with when to migrate the client instance.14. The method of claim 13, comprising, redetermining any schedulingconflicts associated with migrating the client instance to the secondset of server resources based on the alternative scheduled windowwithout confirming that topologies of the client instance and the secondset of server resources correspond or re-reserving the second set ofserver resources.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein redetermining anyscheduling conflicts comprises displaying a prompt that enables a userto retry migrating the client instance to the second set of serverresources.
 16. The method of claim 11, comprising: attempting to createa change request associated with enabling modification of the second setof server resources; and in response to determining that the changerequest was not created, reattempting to create the change requestwithout confirming that topologies of the client instance and the secondset of server resources correspond or re-reserving the second set ofserver resources.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein reattempting tocreate the change request comprises displaying a prompt that enables auser to retry migrating the client instance to the second set of serverresources.
 18. The method of claim 11, comprising: attempting to createa move context associated with migrating the client instance; and inresponse to determining that the move context was not created,reattempting to create the move context without confirming thattopologies of the client instance and the second set of server resourcescorrespond or re-reserving the second set of server.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein reattempting to create the move context comprisesdisplaying a prompt that enables a user to retry migrating the clientinstance to the second set of server resources.
 20. The method of claim11, wherein the request comprises a start time and a threshold duration,and wherein the migration is queued as a task to be performed when thestart time is within the threshold duration.